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Gears of War 2 gets second major update

Gears of War 2 is getting a significant update, which will fix some of the …

While the first Gears of War was one of the better online experiences to be found on the Xbox 360, its sequel has been plagued by a variety of issues when it comes to online play. Some of those problems have already been addressed, and now Epic is releasing a second patch in an attempt to iron out some more wrinkles, mostly related to balancing issues and removing exploits.

The update will remove a number of exploits currently found in the game, such as players being able to use shields while wielding two-handed weapons, melee through walls, or even turn invisible. In terms of balancing the game, the update will reduce the respawn for grenades, reduce the health of proximity grenade mines (making them easier to shoot off), and add more spawn protection to prevent quick deaths after a respawn. Additionally, the update will increase the penalty for players who quit online matches early. A complete list of changes can be found here.

The changes aren't all gameplay fixes though, as the new update will also add seven new achievements to the game. The achievements are only for DLC maps, though 4 of them will be available for the Flashback Map Pack, which is available to any player who purchased the game brand new. Hopefully these changes will make playing GoW2 online a much smoother experience. The update is available now.

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